SPU is invited to demonstrate against violence

On Thursday, October 18, the Moose Hide Campaign organization will hold its national day of fasting and support in the struggle to end violence against women and children.

On this day, the entire Saint Paul University community is invited to wear the moose hide and to march from Confederation Park to Parliament Hill from noon to 1 p.m.

A symbolic squareAs its name says, the symbol of the Moose Hide Campaign is a square of moose leather. Why? “Because it was as they returned from hunting that Paul Lacerte and his daughter, Raven, had the idea of using this material,” explains Sébastien Pilon, coordinator of Indigenous programs at Saint Paul University. “They were near the Highway of Tears, the route that connects Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, along which so many Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing.”

Moved by the sorrow experienced by countless Indigenous families along that road, this father and daughter decided to use moose hide to rally men and boys to work together to end violence against women and children.

United by a common causeAlthough it initially targeted men from a single community, today the Moose Hide Campaign has a wide reach. “The initiative is now aimed at all of society,” notes Sébastien Pilon. Since it began in August 2011, more than one million squares have been distributed from one ocean to the other, and local campaigns have started across the country.

On October 18, members of Parliament, community leaders, Indigenous leaders, civil servants, philanthropists, senators, workers and students, men and women will join together to fast, to march to Parliament Hill and to demand that violence against women and children end.

SPU gets involvedAll SPU professors, students and support staff are invited to support the campaign. To get the square, go to The Oasis, the Student Association office or the Faculty of Human Sciences no later than Wednesday, October 17. If you have any questions, write to spuindig@ustpaul.ca.